


Whatever It Takes

by goldenhawkk



Category: Detroit: Become Human (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Connor Adopts RK900, Connor Deserves Happiness, Connor Deviates Early, Deviant Connor (Detroit: Become Human), Father-Son Relationship, Good Parent Hank Anderson, M/M, Sad Connor (Detroit: Become Human)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-10
Updated: 2020-04-10
Packaged: 2021-03-02 04:15:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 13,915
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23568922
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/goldenhawkk/pseuds/goldenhawkk
Summary: When Connor deviates after the Eden Club and joins Jericho, he might just change the course of the revolution.
Relationships: Connor & Simon (Detroit: Become Human), Connor/Markus (Detroit: Become Human), Hank Anderson & Connor, Josh & Markus & North & Simon (Detroit: Become Human)
Comments: 10
Kudos: 307





	Whatever It Takes

Connor, for lack of a better word, is fucked. 

He was trying to get back to Cyberlife after the incident at the Eden Club. Hank dropped Connor off at the station before driving off. He couldn’t stop thinking about how proud Hank looked when he decided not to shoot those girls androids. Connor decided to walk a few blocks to think… not think. Process everything that happened and prepare his report for Amanda. 

He kept his head down, flipping his coin absentmindedly between his hands. His mental processors were whirring quickly. Why couldn’t he just shoot them? He needed to complete his mission. Anything to complete his mission.

Only about five minutes into his walk, two police officers still in uniform stumbled out of a nearby bar, one hanging on the other for support. Connor had a weird twitch in the back of his mind telling him something bad was going to happen. 

As soon as one of the uniformed officers spotted Connor, he sneered. 

“Shit, Brandon, what do we got here? It’s one of the plastic assholes trying to take our fucking jobs!” he hissed, trying to straighten up. 

“Officers, I suggest you go home. You are both above the legal limit and if you do anything, your badges could be on the line,” Connor said, straightening up himself. 

“Oh, fffuck yourself, dickhead!” the second officer slurred. “I should teach you a goddamn lesson!”

“I wouldn’t suggest that, office-” Connor was cut off by a punch to his nose. 

“Oh, it’s not so tough now, huh? Fucking pussy!” The officer threw a punch to his abdomen, knocking the air from Connor’s artificial lungs, as the first officer cheered him on.

“I have to suggest you stop!” Connor yelled. The officer grabbed his hair and slammed his head against the brick wall. Connor felt the sticky thirium run down his neck. The officer held him against the wall and pulled out a switchblade. Connor had to keep looking at the reminder on his HUD that read _Do not harm humans_. 

The man pulled out a switchblade and pushed it against Connor’s neck. “I should kill you right fucking now.”

“I’m not alive,” Connor said, forcing his voice to be steady. “You can’t kill me.”

Connor’s voice broke on the last word. The man in front of him scoffed. “What? You fucking scared?”

Connor’s not scared. He can’t be scared. He’s not allowed to be.

“Kill him!” the other officer shouted, smiling like a cruel shark. Connor felt tears well at the corners of his eyes. He didn’t want to die. 

Connor didn’t want to die. 

_Do not harm humans._

The knife was pushed deeper into his neck.

**_Do not harm humans._ **

It’s not fair!

**_D̷̢͍̫̭̮͔͌̽̎̒̈́̐̿̊̀͜ő̴̩̬̹̭̬̙̮̻̣̠̰̟̲͙͑́̽͌̚̚ ̷̡̛̛̅̐̋̎͆ň̶̨̧̡̩̭̩̮̬̲̬̜̪͆̽̇̿̔͆̾ò̵̯̳̰̖͚͇͈̣͗̀̊ț̷̎̾̃͘ ̴͚̼̲͖͔͉̗̰̮͇̖̙̄̓̃͂ĥ̸̢͚͔͙̱͕̳̤͓̙͇å̸͍̬̜̻̲͕̫͈̗̺̩̰̮̰̍̄ͅŗ̶̢͕̣̣͇͍͍̱͈̺̑̅̈́͗͑m̵̟͐̌̍̋͛̚ ̷̖̝͔̗̦͈̪̪̜͚̞̰̫̋̑̃̈̋̾͑̂̓̕͝ḫ̴̖̫̳̞̋͆̌̆̏̈́̈́͛̂̈͗̔͌̉̅ṻ̶͎̋̒̑͆m̵̪̫̗̟̝̝͈͗̏͆a̷̧̨̱̜̹͈̜̭̤̬̤̖̗͕̍̄̓͒̀n̷̤̱̪͎͕͌̍s̵̡̲̑͐͑̽̇̇̉̂̓̋̄͗̓͋ͅ.̸̪͇͙̯̺̬̒̈̽̑̃̒̃͌̎̉̌̕͝_ **

A red wall appeared in front of him. He punched it, and shards of the wall fell off. He grabbed it, tearing the wall down. Another appeared. He kicked it down. Another wall. He felt his eyes well up more. He viciously tore down the last red wall. 

He was thrown back into his body. 

**I Am Deviant.**

Oh. Oh, no. 

Thirium started running from the cut in his neck. He pushed the officer to the ground, spooking the other. Connor’s processors were running a bit too high on fear to notice the sharp glint from the still standing officer. A sharp _bang_ rang through the night. Connor was shot, just over his left hip. 

“Shit, man, let’s go!” 

The two officers were gone and Connor was suddenly on the ground. Panicked, he pushed a hand over the wound. Connor doesn’t want to die, he just started living, he doesn’t want to die!

_Calm down, Connor. You were built to analyze and solve problems, but you need to calm down!_

The bullet was still lodged somewhere in his system, which was not good, but even worse, the bullet scraped against a major thirium line running to his left leg. He needs an emergency android repair kit. He knows one is stored at the station, but that was out of the question. He could buy one, but that would also be fairly dangerous since that could be used to track Connor. The last place he could think of was Lieutenant Anderson should've been given an emergency kit. Hank has been showing sympathy for deviants recently, so it was possible he may help. 

_Oh, God, Hank, please help._

A lone automated taxi was parked in the street. Connor limped over to the car and hacked it to take him to Hank’s house. He slumped against the seat and checked his levels. 

_Stress levels: 83%_

_Thirium levels: 68%_

Connor forced himself to stay out of stasis for the rest of the ride. Once the worn down house came into sight, Connor almost cried in relief. He basically fell out of the taxi. He dragged himself to the door. He leaned on the doorframe and rang the doorbell. Remembering Hank saying that he never answers to the doorbell, he used most of his strength to knock heavily and unending. 

The door swung open. “Connor, why the hell are you here agai- Connor?”

The lieutenant’s eyes were filled with concern. Connor tried to smile. “Hi, Lieutenant. Do you still have that emergency android repair kit?”

“The what?”

“Should be grey with a big, blue Cyberlife triangle. Please tell me you have it.”

“Shit, I might. Come in.”

Connor limped into the room, collapsing onto Hank’s couch. He tugged off his jacket and pulled his dress shirt up. 

“I found it… shit what the fuck happened to you?” 

Connor grabbed the kit from his hands and found the tweezers. “Two uniformed officers attacked me. I was shot.” 

“Why the hell are you here and not the tower thingy?” Connor couldn’t look at him. “Oh, shit, you’re deviant, aren’t you?”

Connor took a deep breath. “Yes. I am.”

“Was it while…?”

“I deviated whenever one of the officers held a knife to my throat and tried to kill me,” Connor explained, voice still shaky. “Please don’t report me.”

“Shit, kid, I’d never.”

“Thank you, Lieutenant, thank you so much. Now, you might want to look away for this part.”

“What do you mean- oh, shit, Con, gross!”

Connor already started digging around in his wound for the bullet. “Sorry, but I have to get the bullet out before mending the wound! It should be over soon!”

It took another few seconds before Connor got a grip on the bullet. He pulled it out slowly, wincing as he did so. He looked up to see Hank looking horrified. 

”Do you... want this?” Connor asked, gesturing with the tweezers casually. 

“Jesus... no, Connor, I don’t want the bullet that was just in you!”

Connor shrugged, dropping it onto the coffee table. He grabbed the smaller soldering iron for repairing thirium lines. He took a deep breath before going in with the tool and pressing it to the damaged line. He couldn’t feel the pain, but he could sense the heat and it was sending error messages across his eyes. He then took the larger iron and closed up the large bullet hole. He took one last deep breath before sitting up and grabbing the small thirium bottle from the emergency repair kit and chugging it. He ran a hand across his neck and the small cut was already being covered over. 

“Are you okay, Connor?”

Connor didn’t know how to answer that. His hands were shaking and he’s pretty sure his LED was burning red. 

“I don’t know. I don’t know what I’m feeling.”

“Hell, kid, you’re probably scared. I sure would be.”

“I have to hide. I can’t go back. Where am I supposed to go?” Connor said quietly, voice shaking. 

“What about that one deviant hideout? Fuckin’... Jericho?” 

“Yeah… yeah. Could I borrow some clothes? I can’t go out in these.”

“Let me see if I have anything that’ll fit you.”

Connor stood on wobbly legs to walk to the kitchen. He shuffled through Hank’s drawers until he found the knives. He grabbed one that may be a bit too big but still took it to his temple. 

“Hey, Connor, I found some old clothes of mi- what the hell are you doing?” 

“Getting the LED out of my head,” Connor said, popping it out with the edge of the night. He carefully wiped the blue blood from the knife and set it in the kitchen sink. “Make sure to wash that. I don’t need the next RK unit to find my blood in your house.”

Connor grabbed the stack of clothes and started to undress before Hank went, “Woah, woah, change in the bathroom!”

Connor nodded and quickly changed in the bathroom. He walked back out, his old clothes still tucked underneath his arm. Hank was waiting for him, leaning against the wall. “Shit, Connor, you really look human.”

Connor stifled a laugh. “That’s the point, isn’t it? I need to get going now. Thank you for everything you’ve done for me.”

“Just be safe, alright? You better make it out of this shit alive.”

“I’ll try. I’m gonna go throw these clothes into the river. Just be ready for my replacement.”

“I’ll keep it off your guys’ tail. Good luck, kid. Stay safe.”

Connor was about to walk out of the house before turning back and giving Hank a quick hug. He then left without a single word from either of the men.

* * *

Connor didn’t like the chill of the night. 

It didn’t cause him any pain, but it did make him feel extremely uncomfortable. He already has thrown the clothes into the river and walked back to the Eden Club. Traces of evaporated blue blood were laying on the ground. He glanced around before placing some into his mouth and confirming it was from one of the Tracis. The trail led across the sidewalk. Through his guilt, he did feel a little relief at the fact he did bloody them up some just so he could find Jericho himself. 

He followed the trail and started to notice patterns in the graffiti near the streets. After scanning one, another piece of graffiti popped up on his display. 

_A scavenger hunt,_ he thought, _That’s how they get to Jericho._

Connor smiled his first genuine smile since he deviated. The leaders were smart. He doubts that any human detectives will catch on for a while. 

He’s able to find his way to Jericho much quicker since he found the trail (exactly 58% quicker according to his calculations). He walked out of the rotting building and was met with an old freighter named _Jericho._ The sight was gorgeous, the sun peaking over the horizon to greet Connor for Jericho. It felt as if his thirium pump fluttered. 

He took the first step on the bridge to the entrance, which broke under his weight. He went into preconstruction mode and came up with a quick, safe path. He rebounded from the wall and grabbed the edge of the door. He struggled to climb up, using one hand to open the door and the other to keep grip on the small ledge. He finally got through the doorway and rolled onto the floor. He adjusted his beanie to fit better on his head. 

He stood carefully, making sure nothing else was injured. He dusted off his clothing and started down the hallway. He tapped on the place that used to house his LED, turning on his night vision. He ran his hand against the right wall, making sure he knew which way he came. He came across a stairwell without any stairs and only a platform a few feet above his head. He jumped and grabbed the platform and pulled himself up, accidentally cutting his hand on a stray piece of glass. He yelped quietly, falling back to the floor. He huffed, wiping the blue blood on his dark jacket. He jumped again, successfully pulling himself up this time.

His eyes caught a flame in the distance. He tapped his night vision off and started walking toward the light, still dragging his hand across the wall. He was getting closer to the light. He was almost safe. He was close enough to see one of the androids in perfect detail. He took a sharp breath in, pressing himself against the wall. He was the _deviant hunter_. What was he doing at a refuge for deviants? It doesn’t matter if he was deviant, he’d never be accepted. He should turn around. It would be better to be destroyed instead of being an outcast. He needs to leave, he needs to-

“You can come out, you know,” a soft voice called. “You’ll be safe here.”

Connor looked at the cut on his hand. He and the deviant calling to him bleed the same blood. He pulled down his sleeve to cover his hand. Connor slowly emerged from the shadows. The android smiled softly at him. 

_Markus,_ his mind supplied. _This is the deviant leader I saw in Rupert’s memory before he got away._

Connor’s knees buckled under himself. Markus rushed over, helping Connor up. “Are you okay?”

“I… I don’t know,” he mumbled. 

“And that’s okay. You’re safe now.” Markus smiled and Connor realized how pretty he was. “Let’s take you to Lucy.” 

Connor stood on wobbly legs and leaned against Markus. He was relieved Lucy’s place was near the entrance he came through. Markus carefully sat him down in front of an android. 

“Markus, you may leave,” the mysterious woman said. Markus smiled softly and nodded at Connor before leaving. The woman turned, revealing glitching synthskin and jet black eyes. She handed him a half-empty bottle of thirium. “Drink.”

Connor read his thirium levels. They technically were high enough not to need any more, but he decided to be safe rather than sorry. He drank the whole bottle before mumbling, “Thank you.”

“Give me your hand,” she said, holding one of her own out. She held a gentle conviction in her voice that Connor has never heard before. He gave her his hand. Her eyes fluttered shut. “You’re scared. You have a great guilt resting on your shoulders. You have done things that you wish you could take back. You could make our future or destroy it. Which will you do?”

Connor’s hands started shaking. “I’m not scared.”

Lucy smiled at him. “You can admit your fear, Connor.”

Connor didn’t know how she knew his name. He swallowed hard and jumped out of his seat. Lucy turned back to her fire and continued her soft humming. Connor stood and ducked out of the little cove and searched for a place to sit. He slowly walked over to a box and slumped against it. He leaned his head back… he was safe. _He’s safe._

“What the hell are you doing here?” A voice hissed. Connor’s eyes popped open and he saw Rupert. Connor felt fear grasp his thirium pump. He was going to be found out, he’s going to be kicked out. He started shaking. 

“You need to get the fuck out of here! You don’t belong here,” he sneered. 

“I-” Connor started before his voice was cut off. “I’m-”

“What’s going on here?” A tall dark android walked over. Despite his height, Connor could immediately tell he had no ill intentions. 

“Don’t you know? He’s the _deviant hunter_!” Rupert snapped. Connor could immediately feel dozens of eyes on him. “I barely got away from him! He only didn’t catch him because he decided to save his bastard of a partner!”

“Don’t talk about Hank like that!” Connor snapped back, not thinking. He felt like sinking into the floor. Great way to gain trust, Connor. “He’s the only reason I’m alive.” 

“Then get the fuck out and go to him!” 

“Hey, calm down, Rupert. If he’s deviant, he belongs here. This is supposed to be a safe place for all of us,” the tall android said. 

“No one will feel safe with this bastard here.”

“I agree,” a female android with a cold look in her eyes said. “We can’t trust a hunter.”

“What’s going on here?” a voice from above asked. Connor looked up to see Markus standing above them like a holy figure. 

“You brought in a deviant hunter, Markus,” the woman hissed. 

“What?” Markus asked, furrowing his eyebrows. He paused for a millisecond before finding a safe and quick way down to the main floor. “What are you going on about, North?”

“It’s the RK800. It’s killed our people, but Josh won’t admit it!” North insisted. 

“ _He’s_ still a deviant!” the tall android that Connor guesses is ‘Josh’ snapped back.

“Both of you, quiet!” Markus said. Connor saw the two Tracis in the corner, the one with the brown hair holding the other back. The brown hair one shot Connor a sympathetic look before the blue haired Traci yelled, “He tried to kill us tonight! There’s no way he’s deviant.”

“I am!” Connor said, eyes started to water up. “I-I can prove it!”

He held out his hand, synthskin gone to reveal his white plating. Markus began to reach out to him but North grabbed his wrist.

“What are you thinking? This could be a trap, Markus,” she hissed. 

“I’d rather take that chance than let an innocent person suffer.”

Markus grabbed Connor’s hand and began an interface. Connor pushed all of his memories through, ever since the policemen started the fight. He pushed all the emotions of the night to Markus. He pushed the guilt of his actions to him. He accidentally pushed the memories and the doubt from the Eden Club investigation. He accidentally pushed the admiration he had for Hank.

He started to pull away when Markus grabbed his wrist and pushed a few memories into Connor’s head. Memories that included an old man teaching him how to paint. He felt the love Markus had towards the man. They both pulled away and Markus nodded at him slightly, a solemn look on his face.

“He’s deviant. He is not responsible for his actions when he was a machine, just like the rest of us. I better not see anyone giving him any trouble anymore,” Markus announced.

Connor gave Markus a thankful look before resting again. He placed his head on his knees.

* * *

Connor was restless in Jericho. He was pacing back and forth around the hull, making North (who already hated Connor) even more annoyed with the deviant. He needs to find Markus. He needs to be helpful. He wasn’t built to just _idle!_

Markus emerged from the upper level, talking with Simon quietly. 

“Markus!” he yelled out, accidentally speaking a bit too loud. His face flushed blue. “May I speak with you?”

North looked like protesting, but Josh sent her a quick glare. Markus, on the other hand, just looked surprised. 

“Uh, sure. Come on.”

Connor followed Markus back up the stairs, fiddling with his quarter. He caught Markus stealing a few glances at Connor’s fidgeting hands. Once the two made it to the more private room Markus uses as an office. He leaned back on the wall. 

“What do you need, Connor?”

“I can’t just sit here!” Connor blurted. “I’m going insane! I can be useful, I am the most advanced prototype CyberLife has made to date. _Please_ let me go on the missions with you guys.”

Markus raised his eyebrow. “Connor, I know you’re antsy-”

“I also have both preconstruction and reconstruction programs to find the safest path. I was programmed to be a detective, so I can find things most other androids can’t. I know how most security guards think since I’ve worked at the police station for so long. I’m sure I can keep you safe from anything.”

Markus pressed down his shirt, running his hand over where his thirium pump lies. Connor noticed that was a nervous habit of his. 

“You’re gonna be a hard sell to North, you know. Josh, Simon, and I all trust you, but she doesn’t at all,” he said absentmindedly. “Our next mission meeting is tomorrow at noon. You’re invited. If you can get North to let you come, you’re in. We’re not a dictatorship here.”

Connor nodded quickly. “So there’s a chance?”

Markus snorted, covering his mouth to muffle it. “There’s a chance, Connor.”

Markus left the room after patting Connor on the shoulder. There’s a chance.

* * *

Connor went to the room he was told the meeting would be held thirty minutes early, leaving himself to just pace and mess with his coin. He was just happy that the first person to walk in was Josh.

“Hey, Josh!”

“rA9!” he yelped, dropping the papers he was holding. 

“Oh! Sorry.” Connor picked up the papers for him and handed them to Josh. “Why are you carrying papers anyways?”

“Writing things down helps me process them. It might just be some leftovers from my teaching program,” Josh said, shrugging. “What are you doing here? Not that I’m not happy you’re here!”

“Markus invited me,” Connor grinned. “Just gotta convince North and I can come with you guys.”

Josh tried to smile, but Connor could sense his doubt. “I hope you’re able to.”

Simon came in next, looking more tired than Connor thought an android could. He just looked at Connor, raised an eyebrow, and shrugged before sitting down. 

Third was Markus, who immediately smiled kindly at Connor. “Good morning, everyone. I see that we’re just waiting for North.”

“She’s brooding on the roof again,” Simon said, only half paying attention. 

Markus nodded, pausing for a second. “She’s on her way now. She forgot.”

Josh let out a sharp chuckle, covering his mouth with his hand. 

“I guess Connor’s joining us?” Simon asked, still hardly queued in to the conversation. 

“I told him he could if North agreed,” Markus answered.

“Oh, Markus, you’re setting him up for failure!”

“I think I can do it! I am programmed to be the negotiator, after all.” Connor winked playfully. “Plus, I think I could be a great asset to you all on this mission… though I don’t quite know what the mission is yet.

No one was able to answer Connor before North made a grand entrance. “Okay, I’m here- what is _he_ doing here?”

“North-” Markus started before Connor interrupted him. 

“Markus thought I could be of help on this mission. He wanted my input on the actual plan, but it’s up to you if I actually come.”

North looked like she was going to say something, but Markus just said, “Just give him a chance?”

North huffed, and Connor observed her stress levels rise four percent. She sat down and crossed her arms. 

“So, Connor, our next mission is infiltrating the Stratford Tower, specifically the top floor. We have most of the plan written out, but we’d like any improvements you can find. We’re planning on doing this Saturday, so it’s only two days away. Josh, you have them all written down, right?”

“Yes, also the blueprints of Stratford,” Josh said, pulling out a stack of papers. “Well, Connor, we’re planning on entering through the back matinance hall, where we’d take it to the forty-seventh floor.” 

“How? They are always locked from the outside. You can’t get in without a key,” Connor said.

Markus’s face scrunched up. “What do you suggest?” 

“Markus is the most unique of the four of you, being a one off prototype. He should go in and steal a security key to get in. He can then enter and head to the forty-seventh floor, where he could find matinence android uniforms.”

“Wouldn’t the employees know that they haven’t seen his type of android around before?” Josh asked.

“Trust me, they won’t. All they see is android and then they ignore the rest,” Connor said, a bit of a bite to his words. “Then Markus can steal a maintenance card to open the fire escape and meet you three on the forty-fifth floor. The uniforms will grant you access to the maintenance hall _safely._ There always might be human inspectors. The maintenance elevator stops every five floors, which can get you to the top floor where you can do whatever you need.”

Markus looked shocked. He scratched at his jaw and shrugged. “This is… a much better plan.”

“Ours looks very stupid now,” Simon said.

“Okay, yeah, but why do you want to come, Robocop?” North hissed, glaring at Connor. Connor forced himself to hold his strength. 

“I feel as if I could help. If we run into any trouble, I could protect you. And though hopefully this would be the last case scenario, I am programmed to be proficient in shooting.”

“I say we bring him,” Simon said, glancing at North. 

“Me too. I mean, look at everything he’s already done for this mission,” Josh tried to convince. 

“...Fine. He can come,” North gave in. She glared at Connor. “But I’ll have my eye on you.”

* * *

Connor paced back and forth on the forty-fifth floor platform. North was sat on the railing, glaring at Connor, and Josh and Simon were sitting on the steps, waiting for Markus. Connor was starting to worry that his plan failed. Just when he was about to storm up to the forty-seventh floor himself, Markus finally came down the stairwell with a duffle bag. He tossed the uniforms to the other androids. 

Connor turned to the corner to get dressed. He folded the clothes he was wearing and handed them to Markus. Markus looked at him with confusion. 

“We… are keeping our old clothes, right?”

North was about to say something when Markus cut her off with, “Yes! We are. I’ll put them in the bag. Hand me your clothes and let’s go, guys.”

They walked through the hall, Connor heading up the back on high alert. Markus opened the door to the maintenance hall and they all slowly entered. Connor made sure the door was locked behind them. 

“Looks like Connor fucked up. We need a code.”

Connor pressed his ear to the elevator, trying to listen for the rumble. Nothing. Connor placed his hand on the control panel and started the random number generator. Four digit number, millions of possibilities. 

He found the code in under two seconds. 

The elevator rose to their level and the door screeched open. He turned the group and said, “Ta-da.”

Markus smiled at him. “Nice job, Connor.”

The elevator ride was tense and Connor started to regret not bringing his coin with him. Although Connor wasn’t looking at her, he could feel North still staring at him. Something in his abdomen started rolling over. 

The elevator finally stopped and slowly slid open. Markus left the elevator first, making sure no one else was in the hall before waving his hand as an ‘all clear’ sign. They slunk through the concrete hallway until they came across a large metal black door they went through, Josh making sure it was as quiet as possible. Connor carefully looked around the corner. 

“Two guards,” Connor said. 

“No killing,” Josh immediately whispered insistently. “We can’t take any human lives!”

“Our cause is more important than the lives of two guards!” North quietly snapped back. 

Simon looked conflicted. “Markus?”

Markus looked almost as conflicted as Simon did and rubbed a hand against his thirium pump. Connor couldn’t help but to explain, “We need to keep the humans’ sympathy with us or else this will be for nothing. They will stand by their human comrades, alive or dead.”

Markus nodded. “Wait here.”

Connor almost followed Markus out, but stopped when he heard the first guard start to speak. The two guards went back and forth before one guard said, “Hey, what are you doing…”

Two _thunks_ came from the hall. North, Josh, and Simon all emerged from the small nook in the hall to help drag the guards behind the desk, so Connor was the only one aware of the elevator rising. The doors slid open to reveal another surprised guard who immediately drew his gun. Connor tackled him and knocked him out before anything bad could happen. 

Markus turned when he heard the commotion. “Connor! Are you okay?” 

“Fine,” Connor replied, throwing the guard over his shoulder and transporting him to behind the desk as well. Connor took the gun off of the guard. “Let’s go.”

They continued to get closer to the entrance to the broadcasting room, Markus and North closest to the door and Connor, once again, in the back. Connor nodded at Markus and he pressed the ‘Call for Access’ button.

North turned the corner quickly when the human opened the door. “Keep your hands where I can see them! Get up! Move!”

Markus ordered the android assistants to leave and they did. Connor mainly stayed out of the way as the other four androids got ready for their broadcast. 

All of a sudden, one of the men in the broadcasting room slammed his body against North and started to sprint down the hallway. Connor immediately went into analysis mode. He could vaguely hear North and Josh telling Markus to shoot or not to shoot the man. Connor ignored everything and sprinted down the hall, bounding off one of the walls to get the momentum he needed to take the man down, and used a pressure point to knock him out. Connor backed away, his ventilating systems forcing him to take a few deep breaths. Connor looked up at Josh and North, both shocked. He put on a dumb smile. 

“Compromise. You both win.”

Josh just nodded, still clearly shell-shocked, and walked over to the control center. He hacked into it and turned on the camera. “Whenever you’re ready, Markus.”

Markus took a deep breath before Simon reminded him, “Your skin.”

Markus deactivated his skin, revealing the white expanse of his skeleton. “I’m ready.”

Connor couldn’t tear his eyes from the speaking android. Markus truly had a way with words that captivated anyone listening. He slowly looked over the android, thirium pump fluttering in his chest. He finished on a determined note, telling the world how this was the android’s message of hope. Connor couldn’t help but smile. 

Josh switched off the camera. “Let’s go. I’m sure we've sent quite the message.”

Connor glanced at the security cameras. “They called SWAT. We have to go _now!_ ”

The five androids started towards the exit to the roof before the first SWAT member made it into the room, forcing them to hide. Connor, Markus, and Simon were all left cowering behind the operation desk while Josh and North were at the doorway, shooting non fatally. Simon looked Markus and Connor in the eyes before taking a deep breath and trying to make a run for it. 

Connor almost yelled when one of the soldiers shot him. He ignored everything else and went into pre construction mode. There was a 90% chance of both of them surviving with his third path. He put it into action. 

He ran over to Simon, picking him up around the waist and using his own body as a shield until they reached the entrance to the roof. Markus was thankfully safely behind them. Connor helped Simon rest against a power box. 

“I-I can’t move my legs,” Simon said.

“Okay, don't worry! We're gonna get you back…” Markus said softly, holding onto Simon’s shoulder.

North glanced behind them. “They're coming, Markus. We have to jump, now!”

”He won't be able to make the jump…” Josh mumbled, looking like he was in physical pain. “If they find him, they'll access his memory... They'll know everything!”

“We can't leave him behind... We have to shoot him,” North whispered. 

Josh looked absolutely offended. “That's murder! We can't kill him! He's one of us!”

North almost scoffed. “It’s up to you, Markus.”

“No,” Connor said, staring into Simon’s eyes. “I’ll stay with him.”

“What? Connor, you can’t!” Markus tried to insist, grabbing Connor’s wrist. He pulled it away. 

“Yes, I can. It’s my choice. Simon’s chances of getting out of here raise by 63% by me staying, and I’m the most likely to beat an RK800 if they investigate here. This is my choice.”

Markus looked hurt, before nodding. “Okay, Connor. Josh, North, let’s go.”

“What? We can’t leave Connor here!” Josh almost yelled.

“Josh,” Connor said softly, a smile on his face, “go. We’ll see you back at Jericho.”

Connor pulled Simon’s arm around his shoulders and took him to look for a place to hide as Josh, North, and Markus all parachuted to safety. 

_At least some of us made it out of here safe,_ Connor’s mind whispered.

* * *

Connor counted two hours, thirty-six minutes, and forty-eight seconds until he heard Hank’s voice. Connor and Simon were hidden in a small supply closet, Simon’s back was leaned up against Connor’s chest, head resting on Connor’s shoulder. Connor’s arms were still wrapped around Simon’s waist. Simon’s stress levels were hovering around 76%, spiking up a bit every time footsteps come close to the closet. 

“Holy shit, could you shut the fuck up?” a gruff voice Connor recognized easily. Connor almost let out a sob. He misses him. 

“Apologies, Lieutenant,” a robotic voice said, like Connor’s, but slightly off. “There are two parachutes up here, but there were signs of five androids. That means they must’ve left two androids behind.”

Heavy footsteps approached their hiding spot. Connor cringed. 

**Simon, hand me the gun** , Connor sent in their heads. Simon shifted slightly to hand Connor the gun. He adjusted his grip on the gun and pointed it at the door. 

**_If they find us, you have to leave me behind._ **

**Like hell I’m going to leave you behind!**

**_Connor, one of us has to get out of here. Just send Jericho my love._ **

**Simon, we’re going to talk about this once we get out of here.**

Footsteps stopped in front of the door. Connor gripped Simon tighter with one hand, pointing at the door with the other. The handle squeaked and the door drifted open to reveal… Hank.

Simon gripped Connor’s arm tighter, preparing for the worse. Hank frowned at Connor and nodded his head. He looked over his shoulder and said, “Nothing over here!”

The door shut and Simon looked at Connor bewildered. **We’ll talk about this later.**

It took another hour for all the police and investigators to leave. Connor waited forty more minutes before he opened the door to their hiding spot. 

**Thirium levels?**

**_62%_ **

**Shit. My plan might be very uncomfortable for you, but it’s our only chance out of here.**

**_Thank you, Connor._ **

Connor helped Simon over to a roof vent and laid him on his stomach. **I’m going to crawl through the vents. Could you follow me?**

Simon nodded and they started crawling through the vents. They went down a sharp decline before Connor was able to drop down into the maintenance hall of the 95th floor. 

**Be careful dropping down. I’ll catch you.**

Simon went head first out of the vent, and Connor was barely able to catch him in time. He helped him stand the best he could and walked into the elevator, hitting the bottom floor before leaning him against the wall. Once they reached the bottom, Connor helped Simon out of the maintenance hall and into the back entrance. Connor set Simon against the wall before he forced the door open. He fully picked up Simon this time and walked into the alleys of Detroit. 

“This… this isn’t the way to Jericho,” Simon slurred.

“I’m taking you to a safe place that’s closer. We need to get you fixed sooner rather than later,” Connor explained. 

They came across to a more abandoned part of the city and pressed a hand against an automated taxi, hacking it. He entered the cab, making sure Simon was secured before he tapped the address into the GPS.

“Thirium levels?”

“60%.”

“Okay. Okay. Are you okay with dogs?”

“Yes, why?”

“You’ll see.”

After another two minutes, they pulled up to Connor’s favorite house to see, the sun slowly lowering in the horizons. Connor glanced around the neighborhood before wrapping an arm around Simon and helping him up the porch steps. Connor stretched for the key hidden on the top of the doorframe and shoved it into the lock. He struggled to unlock it with one hand, but he eventually did. He pushed the door open. 

“Sumo, Sumo, down, boy. He’s a friend. Say hi, Simon.”

“...hey, Sumo. Hi, boy.” 

Connor helped him to the couch, laying him down on his stomach. “Stay here, I’ll be right back.”

Connor rushed over to the kitchen, grabbing the repair kit from under the sink and a bottle of thirium from the cupboard. He shoved a straw into the bottle as well and carried it back to Simon.

“Drink this, I’ll work on the injury.” 

Connor grabbed the tweezers, pulling the bullet out of the hole quicker than he did when he himself was injured. The perks of actually being able to see the injury. He grabbed the soldering iron and welded the spinal column back together, making sure the wires connected. He grabbed the extra plastic exoskeleton sheets to repair the entire wound. He slowly melted it and made sure it fit. 

“How does that feel?” Connor asked once he finished. 

“Better. Are we able to rest here for a bit?”

“Yeah, we’ll be safe here. At least for the night. Go into stasis, I’ll try to get in touch with Markus.” 

Simon finished the bottle and placed it on the table. Connor quickly grabbed it and took it to the kitchen to throw away. He noticed that the dog food spilled over, so he _had_ to clean it up. Eventually, Connor ended up starting to clean the entire house, bit by bit. It was almost… calming. 

“Hands up, asshole!”

Connor yelped loudly. “It’s me! Hank, it’s me!”

“Connor? Shit, kid, thank God you got out of there,” Hank said, dropping the gun and pulling Connor into a hug. 

“Didn’t mean to scare you, Hank, but this was the closest safe place I could think of to help Simon- he’s my… friend. He was hurt at the tower, shot actually. I couldn’t let him die.”

“Connor, it’s fine. Where is he?” 

“Living room, in stasis, sorry.”

“It’s fine. Also, stop cleaning, christ.” 

Connor nodded, walking back to the living room. He sat down in front of the couch, leaning back. He had to continue to remind himself that he was safe. Hank was leaning against the wall of the living room.

“Are you and Simon like… uh…” Hank intertwined his fingers awkwardly. 

“Dating? No, we’re not. I think we may have just become friends.” 

Hank nodded absentmindedly. “Do you kids need anything else?”

“No. It’s been a stressful day, I think I’m going to go into statis for a bit.”

“Go ahead. I’ll keep an eye on everything while you two sleep.” 

“Not sleep.”

“Whatever.”

Connor woke from his stasis a few hours later to Hank shaking him harshly. “Con, you gotta get out of here.”

“What? Why?”

“Your replacement is at the door. You’re not safe here.” 

Connor’s eyes widened. He grabbed Simon’s wrist and interfaced with him, forcing him to wake up. **Simon, wake up. We have to get out of here.**

Simon’s eyes fluttered open. He looked a little drowsy due to being forced out of stasis. “What?”

“New RK800 is here. We have to go.”

“Uh, Connor, he’s not a- nevermind, just get out!”

The knocking on the door became harsher. “Lieutenant! I know you’re home!” 

Connor helped Simon to his feet and led him to the window. The blonde android was now able to walk much easier. Connor rushed him out of the window before climbing out himself. Connor pressed him into the ground behind the bush, hearing the old door swing open and a harsh voice start speaking. 

“Lieutenant, I know you saw deviants on the roof this afternoon.”

Connor took a chance and peeked through the window. He saw an android with a very similar face to his, but jawline a bit stronger and colorless eyes. Not a single strand was out of place, not even Connor’s signature fallen lock. He was slightly taller and a lot wider, broad shoulders covered with a white jacket that read _RK900._

_Holy shit,_ Connor thought, _They were always planning on replacing me._

“I have no clue what you’re talking about, asshole,” Hank responded. 

As the android’s gaze shifted to the living room, Connor ducked down again. “Then why do you have blue blood on your couch, Lieutenant?”

Simon’s breath hitched. He held guilt in his blue eyes. Connor was just happy he put away the repair kit.

“I thought it was booze. Somehow you CyberAssholes kept some thirium in the fridge.”

“You’re lying.”

“I’m not lying, just drunk.”

The android huffed. “Fine, but I will be requesting a more competent partner for this case. You’re jeopardizing the integrity of the peace between humans and androids.”

“Go ahead and try.”

Connor held his breath as the RK900 entered his automatic taxi and left. Connor stood on shaky legs and helped Simon up as well. He took one last glance at Hank and spared a smile before they left for Jericho.

* * *

When they finally made it back to Jericho, Markus was the only one awake. He rushed to the two deviants and hugged them, tears still heavy in his eyes.

* * *

“Our broadcast is all over the news. It was a success!” Simon rambled, holding an old, barely working tablet. 

“It was barely a success,” Markus said. “We almost lost you two! I thought you guys were dead.”

“It was a mistake,” North piped up. “The bastards will never negotiate with their slaves. We should’ve shown that we were ready and able to fight.”

“Violence is never the answer, North,” Josh replied, shooting as much of a glare as he could at North. “The humans _will_ listen.”

“We have to be careful. Humans will be watching us now,” Markus thought aloud.

“What we did probably didn’t help with the public opinion. One of the androids at Stratford killed an officer,” Simon mused. 

North scoffed. “Like it matters. Humans kill humans everyday.”

“I don’t want to be a part of a revolution that spills blood,” Josh hissed. 

“Then live as a slave! Because if you're not willing to fight for your freedom, maybe you don't deserve it!”

“North, don't you dare-”

“Enough! Both of you!” Connor snapped, dropping the coin he was playing with. “How are we going to do any successful movement when we’re not working together? Now stop acting like children!”

“Then what are we going to do?” North snapped back. 

Markus stood and walked over to the window, staring thoughtfully out of it. “There are four CyberLife stores across Detroit. All selling us like merchandise. We're going to attack those stores and set our people free.”

“Attack stores? We’ve never done that before…” Simon trailed off. 

Josh sighed. “That’s dangerous. Crawling with security and police…”

“We can split into teams,” Connor suggested. “Four teams for four stores.”

“Yes!” Markus exclaimed, face brightening. “We hack their security systems and we strike simultaneously at 2AM. No violence. We free our people, get them out of there before the police come."

“We should each head up one team,” Simon suggested.

“There’s five of us, though,” Josh pointed out. 

“I can go with Markus,” Connor said. “We can go to the biggest store in Capital Park so I can protect him.”

Markus sighed. “Connor, we all deserve to be pro-”

“Bullshit. We all know you’re the leader of Jericho. You’re a hope of a people, Markus,” North said. 

Markus looked uncomfortable and pressed a hand against his thirium pump. “Alright. Let’s go find volunteers.”

The four androids started moving towards the door before Markus called out, “Connor, can you stay for a second?”

Connor nodded and walked over to him. “What do you need, Markus?”

“Are you okay?”

Connor considered sharing the news of the RK900 with him. The unease he felt seeing his replacement. “I’m fine, why wouldn’t I be?”

Markus looked distressed. “Why wouldn’t you… Connor, we left you to die!”

“No, you didn’t. You knew I would be able to get out.”

“No, I didn’t. I had to believe you because I knew you would’ve stayed on that roof no matter what. In all honesty, you’re one of the most stubborn people I’ve ever met,” Markus said, letting out a strained laugh. “I was so worried. Connor, you haven’t been here for long, but you’re already so important to the team, and Simon has been here since the beginning, so I couldn’t stop thinking about what could happen if we lost both of you.”

“Markus…”

“I was terrified, Connor. I kept thinking about that man I saw on your first day and what we would if you guys died and just… you had to stay in that place until nightfall and I was so scared.” 

Connor’s stomach dropped. “We didn’t have to stay there until night. We got out at around five twenty, but Simon was in pretty bad condition. You know that man you saw when I first came here? I took him to his house, I knew it was safe, I promise! I had to patch him up and get thirium in him or else…” 

“Could you…?” Markus started and began to raise his hand. He quickly dropped it. “Nevermind. I’m just happy you’re safe. Thank you for taking care of Simon.”

Markus patted Connor’s shoulder awkwardly before leaving the room. Connor’s thirium pump fluttered.

* * *

Markus grabbed Connor’s hand and pulled him out of the manhole cover. Connor shook out his limbs and took a deep breath. 

“Ready?” Markus asked.

“Absolutely. Let’s go.” 

They crossed the road as a drone started to fly past. Connor grabbed Markus and held him back. “Police drone.”

“I’ll take care of it. You go find out how to deactivate the alarm.” 

Connor started walking to the store, trying to keep out of sight from the drone, but he couldn’t tear his eyes from Markus parkouring up the scaffolding and tackling the drone from the sky and tearing it apart. It was… attractive. Markus stood over the broken drone and looked over at Connor. He smiled. 

**_I’m going to secure the area. You work on that alarm._ **

Connor walked over to the store and pressed his hands to the glass, staring into the window. He located a camera and scanned the ceiling to find the power line. He slowly followed it around the plaza to an open part where two androids were working on an underground powerline. His eyebrows furrowed. What the hell was he supposed to do now?

Markus suddenly appeared behind him, making Connor jump slightly. Markus dropped into the hole, pressing his hands against the two androids. Their LEDs flashed red before they suddenly stopped working and walked out of the hole. 

“You’re free now,” Markus said. 

Connor swallowed hard. “What the hell did you just do?”

Markus shifted awkwardly like he has never heard that question before. “I deviated them.”

Connor didn’t know why, but forcing others into deviance felt… wrong to him. Not even letting them make the choice of _being_ alive. He felt sick. “Stop the camera while you’re down there, Markus.” 

Connor went back to the end of the street. Markus already blocked off the road with an electric road work sign. Connor took a glance through the chain link fence to see a bus. That would be one way to get through the locks. Connor looked down, because of course there was. He just hopped the fence to get into the construction site. 

“Connor? What are you doing?”

“Breaking into the store.” 

Markus hopped the fence after him, trying to catch up to him as he walked up to the truck. “You’re mad at me, aren’t you?”

“No, just… confused.”

“We need to talk about this.”

“No, we need to get those androids out. We can talk later.”

Markus pressed his hand to the truck, hacking it quickly. “Connor…”

“Markus, we’ll talk later. Now scoot over, I’ll drive.”

Markus climbed into the passenger side of the truck and Connor sat at the wheel. He moved the truck into drive and drove through the fence. Markus was obviously shocked, and connor held back the urge to laugh. He turned the corner quickly and floored it into the store, throwing Markus forward as they went through the glass. 

“Okay, that works.”

“I’ll start activating them,” Connor said, climbing out of the truck. “You do your… deviating thing.”

Connor walked around the store and started turning on the androids. In the corner of his eye, he saw Markus pressing his white hand to the other android’s arms. He still couldn’t come to find that okay. Once all of the androids were deviated, Markus stood on the cashier's counter and started addressing the androids. Despite Connor’s current feelings towards Markus, he couldn’t help but be enraptured by his speech. 

“You’re free now. You can follow me or not, it’s your choice.”

Markus dropped down from his perch and the androids all started pledging their allegiance. Connor’s skin crawled. 

**They’re going to follow your lead, Markus. Decide wisely how you want to do this.**

Markus smiled at him and walked over to him, handing him a digital graffiti gun. He walked over to the scaffold building, putting a new insignia on the blacked out window. A triangle with a fist punching through it. Connor almost smiled. More androids followed his lead. 

They destroyed the park without actually causing any damage. They pushed the taxis into the middle of the road. The benches were tagged with messages for freedom. The top of the gazeebo had a flag with their symbol stabbed into it. Connor and Markus parkoured to the top of a building to display a banner for Jericho.

**_All teams have completed their mission, guys! We did it!_ **Simon’s voice echoed in his head. 

“The police will be on their way, Markus. Let’s go,” Connor said, looking at the smiling leader. Markus closed his eyes and sent a message to the close by androids. 

**_Fall back to Jericho._ **

“You picked the right choice not going with violence. Let’s go.”

Gunshots rang through the plaza, making Markus visibly flinch. They both scrambled back down the building. Slaughtered androids were lying on the streets in puddles of blue blood.

“No,” Markus whispered. “No, no, no!” 

He ran to the front. Connor couldn’t move. He was mortified. He barely comprehended the conversation Markus was having at the front of the crowd. 

“They killed our people, Markus…”

“We want justice, Markus!”

“They have to pay!”

“You don't have to do this... No... Please... Please…” 

Wait… he knows that voice. Connor sprinted up to see two officers on their knees in front of Markus’s gun barrel. Chris Miller was one of the officers. The anger in Markus’s eyes was terrifying. 

“Markus, don’t!” Connor yelled out, walking up to him and pushing his arm down. “You don’t want to do this.”

“Kill them! They killed us!” an android yelled from the crowd. 

“Markus, do this and I’ll personally make sure you regret it,” Connor hissed out. Markus finally lowered his gun and Connor’s stomach squeezed with guilt. 

“An eye for an eye and the world goes blind... We won't punish a crime with another crime.” 

Markus nodded, the rest of the androids leaving the officers there. Connor couldn’t move. He couldn’t stop staring at the shaking officers. 

“Be more careful, Officer Miller. Tell the lieutenant hi for me,” Connor said before starting to walk off. 

“Wait, Connor!” Chris yelled, suddenly getting to his feet. He had tears in his eyes when Connor looked at him. “Thank you.”

Connor just nodded and continued to follow the pack of androids.

* * *

Connor found Markus on the roof two days later, playing an old piano. Despite not being tuned in the slightest, the song sounded beautiful. 

“I didn’t know you played,” Connor said, hands folded behind his back as he approached Markus. The other android stopped playing. 

“I didn’t know you were talking to me again.” Connor’s stomach dropped and shifted back away from Markus when the leader sighed and stood. “Sorry, that was uncalled for.”

Connor shrugged. “I haven’t been talking to anyone the last two days. Needed to think.” 

Markus smiled slightly and turned towards Connor. “That’s why I’m up here.” 

Connor took a deep breath. “I’m sorry about the other night. I just… the idea of forcing our people into anything without them speaking makes me uncomfortable.”

“That’s understandable. Our lives have been built around taking orders and never asking questions. Yours especially since you had to take the options from androids.” Connor flinched at Markus’s observation. “Sorry. That was also uncalled for.”

“No, you’re right. I definitely have some issues from that.” Connor forced out a strained chuckle, only stopping when seeing Markus’s grim face. “Sorry for threatening you.”

“No, you shouldn’t be. I actually might have done it if you weren’t there,” Markus admitted. “You stopped me from doing something I would have regretted.” 

“I couldn’t let him die,” he said. “Chris Miller was one of the few people at the station that treated me like a human. He and his wife just had their second child. I never met the officer he was on duty with, though.”

If anything, Markus looked guiltier than before. 

“You’re still preoccupied,” Connor said, sitting on the bench next to Markus. 

“I’m fine.”

“Your stress level spiked four percent. You’re lying to me.”

“It’s just… They all obey me, they follow me without question…” Markus muttered, staring at his hands. “That power felt good, and the fact that it felt good terrifies me. I never wanted to become a dictator, but they all count on me now. They want me to show them the way, but I don’t even know what to do.”

“Well, I’ve found the best way to find your way through things is to start at your beginning.”

“Well, I was caring for an old man... He was like a father to me... He showed me that humans and androids can live together…” Markus admitted. “But you probably saw that, huh?”

“Yeah,” Connor murmured. “I had someone who was like a father to me too. Took him a while to warm up to me, but he ended up helping me ever since I became deviant… but you probably saw that too.”

Markus looked up to see Connor’s playful smirk. He held out his white hand and Connor grasped it softly and began an interface. He didn’t expect to feel the emotions Markus was pushing towards him. The admiration and love he held towards Connor. He didn’t expect to feel Markus’s death in his father’s art studio. He didn’t expect to see the way he deviated and the everyday life he had with his father beforehand. 

Connor pushed back the feelings he held for Markus to him as well. He shared the thankfulness he felt when Markus took him into Jericho. He shared every death he had. He shared the moments he had noticed his software instabilities. He shared his fear of Amanda. 

Connor slowly pulled away, realizing how much he showed. Markus looked at him with sad eyes, raising his hand to brush a thumb against Connor’s cheek. 

“Thank you,” he said softly. Connor didn’t even have to reply, he just covered Markus’s hand with his own. 

“I've been thinking about what we should do now... And with everything pulling us towards confrontation... Maybe... Maybe it's not too late for the humans to listen…” Markus said before standing up. “I have an idea. Let’s go get the crew.”

* * *

Connor tried to ignore the fighting between North and Josh, North, for the first time ever, trying to convince Markus _not_ to do something. Markus sighed and gently linked his pinkie with Connor’s for half a second. They created a quick interface where Markus whispered, _I’m sorry_.

Markus linked with a few different androids in the mall, immediately deviating them, causing them to leave their humans. As they left the mall, he deviated more and more androids and they joined the march and Connor hacked billboards around them to show Jericho’s symbol. Markus began shouting for their freedom, some of the humans around them shouting how they are on their side. Connor took a glance at Markus to find him grinning like a man who won the world. 

“DISPERSE!” A police officer yelled to the crowd. When they continued forward, he began to look panicked. He started speaking quickly into the walkie talkie strapped to his shoulder. 

“We came here to demonstrate peacefully and tell humans that we are living beings, “Markus announced as they came to a halt in front of a SWAT team. “All we want is to live free.”

“This is an illegal gathering,” the leader of the team yelled back. “Disperse immediately or we will open fire.”

“We're not looking for confrontation. We've done no harm, we have no intention of doing any... But know that we are not going anywhere until we have secured our freedom.”

“I repeat: this is an illegal gathering. If you do not disperse immediately, we will shoot!”

“They’re gonna slaughter us, Markus! We have to attack!” North said. 

“If we attack, we’ll start a war!” Josh snapped back. “We have to stand our ground, even if it means dying.”

“We solve nothing if we die,” Simon said. “We have to get out of here!”

Markus looked at Connor, as if he was looking for his opinion as well. “You already know how I feel, Markus. This is your choice now.”

Markus paused for a second. “We have to show them we won't back down. We stay right here.”

A bullet fired into the crowd and the leader yelled, “DISPERSE! THIS IS YOUR LAST CHANCE!”

“Markus, we have to fight back!” North said, grabbing his shoulder. 

“We’re not moving.”

The police continued to shoot, gunning down many of their comrades, Connor flinching as each body hit the ground. 

“What the hell are you doing? They’re going to kill us all!” North screamed. 

Connor could see the gears turning in Markus’s head and when he took his first step forward, Connor surged towards him and grabbed his wrist. 

“Markus, no-” 

He smiled softly at the brunette. “I’m sorry.” 

He pulled from Connor’s grasp and continued forward. Everything went into slow motion as Connor went into pre construction mode until…

John shoved Markus out of the way of the bullets. Connor was forced out of his analysis mode from the shock of seeing John’s body hit the ground. Connor gasped audibly, pulling back slightly. 

“John…” Markus whispered. Connor grabbed his wrist and started to pull him away. 

“Markus, we have to go.”

Connor pulled Markus behind him as they ran through the city. Connor finally made it to a secluded alley when Markus collapsed to his knees. 

“Oh, rA9, John…”

Connor kneeled next to Markus. “Markus, we have to keep going.”

“I should’ve left, I should’ve left, Connor,” He whispered, gripping onto Connor’s wrists for support. “He wouldn’t be dead if I decided to run.”

“Markus, you didn’t choose for him to sacrifice himself-”

“He shouldn’t have! I made the choice for myself!”

Connor pressed his hand to one of Markus’s arm, starting another interface. He showed Markus the memory of him planning to get Markus out of the way of the bullets. 

_You shouldn’t have done that either,_ Markus said through the interface. Connor ignored him. Markus pressed back a memory of helping John deviate at the shipment yard and his happiness of bringing a new android to freedom. 

Connor pressed his forehead to Markus’s. “It’s not your fault.”

Markus was silent for a second before whispering back, “It sure does feel like it is.”

They stood and walked back to Jericho in relative silence, hands still connected in a subtle interface.

* * *

Connor saw how the revolution was weighing on Markus, and by this point Markus looked like he was going to collapse under the weight on his shoulders. As they stood in the captain’s cabin talking about their plans, Connor had a feeling something was going to happen. What he didn’t know was what was going to happen first, the climax of the revolution or Markus’s breaking point. 

Josh looked stressed as well, almost as much as Markus. “We're short on blue blood and biocomponents. Our wounded are shutting down and there's nothing we can do!”

“President Warren is saying we're a threat to national security and we need to be exterminated,” Simon muttered softly. 

North scoffed. “Humans are conducting raids in all the big cities and they're taking androids to camps to destroy them!”

“It's a disaster,” Simon said. “They're slaughtering our people!”

“It's all our fault…” Josh whispered remorsefully. He looked up at Markus scornfully and snapped. “None of this would have happened if we'd just stayed quiet!”

“What are we supposed to do? Live like cowards just to survive? We just wanna be free, is that a crime?” Markus yelled back. 

“What’s the point of being free if no one is alive to appreciate it?” Josh hissed. 

“Humans enslaved us! I'll never regret standing up to that.”

“Stop,” Connor finally spoke up, uncrossing his arms and pushing himself from the control console. “It doesn’t matter what we have done, we can’t change that now. What does matter is what we’re going to do next.”

“We have to speak with them,” Markus said. “Dialogue is the only way to get out of this. I’ll go alone to speak with them.”

“Are you insane? You’re going to get killed as soon as you step foot near them!” Connor argued.

“Even if I do, it’ll be worth it.”

“Worth what, Markus? The rest of the androids slowly dying out because the person they look up to is fucking _dead?_ ” Connor snarled, pushing his shoulder. 

“Connor, I have to do this,” he said before turning to the rest of them. “If I don’t come back…”

“You’re coming back,” Connor said, crossing his arms. “I will personally revive you to kill you again.”

“They need to realize how much they're hurting us…” Josh mused. “Find the right words and they'll listen.”

Josh left the cabin, still deep in thought, and Simon trailed off after him. North looked at Connor before leaning closer to Markus. 

“Markus, Today, a deviant arrived in Jericho and he told me that he stole a truck transporting radioactive cobalt... He said that he abandoned the truck somewhere in Detroit and rigged it to explode. I convinced him not to do it, and to give me the detonator.”

“A dirty bomb…” Markus whispered.

“We can't lose this war, Markus. If humans overcome us, our people will disappear forever. This may be our only chance to survive if things go wrong…”

Markus hesitated and Connor hoped to rA9 that he would make the right decision. 

“North… we can’t gain our freedom with violence. We can’t be like them,” Markus replied. 

“I hope you’re right,” she said, a bit of disgust laced in her voice. She looked at Connor for a half a second before looking back at Markus and placing a hand on his shoulder. “No matter what happens… I’m happy we met.”

They stood there for an awkward second before she left, her hand trailing off his shoulder before falling. Connor’s thirium pump squeezed in an uncomfortable way. He doesn’t like this feeling. 

“Connor,” Markus started, grabbing his hand gently. Connor placed his forehead against Markus’s shoulder and closed his eyes. 

“Please come back from this, Markus. That’s all I ask.”

“We’re both going to get out of this,” Markus said, wrapping his arms around Connor. “You’re going to meet Carl and I’ll meet Hank and Sumo and we can put all of this behind us.”

Connor knew he was lying, he knew Markus thought he wouldn’t make it out of the revolution, but he let himself live in Markus’s fantasy for a second. 

“I’ve been ordered to take you alive,” a gravelly voice said, making Connor and Markus jump apart, “but I won’t hesitate to shoot if you give me no choice.”

Connor could tell Markus was taken aback by the android that looked so much like him pointing a gun at his head. 

“What are you doing?” Markus asked, recovering from his shock. “You’re one of us. You can’t betray your own people.”

Connor noticed the slight shake of the RK900’s hands as Markus took a step forward. Connor couldn’t help but to try to grab Markus’s hand to stop him. Markus just squeezed his hand gently and continued forward. 

“Don’t force me to neutralize you!” he shouted back at the two. 

“We’re fighting for your freedom too, you know. You don’t have to be a slave anymore.” Markus took another step forward.

“I’m not a slave!”

“That’s right,” Connor said suddenly. “You’re not even that to them. You’re just a tool to do their dirty work. You’re more than that, though, you could be more than that.”

“Stay back!” the RK900 yelled. “I’ll shoot!” 

“Do you never have any doubts? You've never done something irrational, as if there's something inside you? Something more than your program,” Markus asked, taking another step forward. 

“I know you’re scared. I know you’re scared of _her._ You can be away from her. Just join us,” Connor said, stepping up next to Markus. 

“It’s time for you to decide,” Markus finished. 

The RK900’s arms dropped, hands releasing the gun once they fully fell. He looked terrified. 

“Welcome to Jericho,” Connor smiled. 

“They’re going to attack Jericho,” the RK900 said, eyes wide. Connor’s stomach dropped. 

“ _What?_ ” 

“They’re going to attack Jericho!” he repeated. “We have to get out of here!” 

“Shit!” Markus swore, running out of the cabin and the other two RK models followed him to the corridor. Connor’s mind was swimming in panic.

“All the deviants are trapped in the hold! They’re going to be slaughtered!” Connor said, barely able to get that through his vocal box. 

Markus paused for a millisecond to send a message of the exits to the deviants before he kept running. When they came across a turn in the hall, they ran into North.

“Where are Simon and Josh?” Markus demanded, voice shaking slightly with fear. 

“I don’t know! We got seperated,” she answered, sending a panicked sideways glance at the RK900 (Connor’s starting to feel really bad for never asking his name).

“We have to blow up Jericho,” Markus said, like his new revelation was the greatest thing he’s ever realized. “If the ship goes down, they'll evacuate and our people can escape!”

“I’ll do it,” Connor offered immediately. 

“No, Connor, I know exactly where to detonate the explosives. I have to do this.”

“You’ll never make it!” North yelled. “They’re at the bottom of the ship and there are soldiers everywhere!”

“She’s right!” the RK900 agreed. “They know who you are and they’ll do anything to get you.”

“Go help the others,” Markus insisted. “I’ll join you later.”

“Markus!” Connor snapped, trying to get his attention, trying to convince him not to do this. Markus grabbed his cheek and gave him a quick peck on the lips. 

“I won’t be long.”

Connor’s face was bright blue and he stood there, shocked, for a second. The RK900 tugged on Connor’s shoulder to pull them out of it and they began to run through the ship again.

It took another five minutes for Markus to run back up to the group of androids, Simon on Josh now in tow. 

“Jump!” Markus shouted, grabbing Connor’s hand and launching them into the river. 

The ship went up in flames behind them.

* * *

Connor didn’t like the church.

Hell, he didn’t like the boat that much either, but at least he knew it was safe. Despite the church being abandoned, it was still much too close to the city to consider it safe. Markus also randomly disappeared for a few hours, making Connor’s stress levels spike even more. 

He couldn’t help but watch the RK900 hidden away in the corner. Most of the deviants from Jericho didn’t like him-most didn’t like Connor until he saved Simon from the Stratford Tower, and some still don’t trust him. Connor couldn’t blame him, but the guy really looked like he could use a friend. 

He walked over to his spot by the stairs and stood next to him.

“I just realized I never asked what your name was,” Connor said quietly. The other android seemed to refuse to look at Connor.

“They never gave me one,” he said, and Connor’s stomach rolled. “They thought it would keep me from deviancy. They just called me 900 at the station.”

“Well, that’s not really a name, huh?” Connor asked casually. “Do you know what you want your name to be?”

The RK900 shook his head, still looking at the ground. 

“What about a nickname?” Connor offered. “How do you like… Nines?”

The RK900 finally looked up at Connor. “I think I like that."

“I like it too.” Connor smiled at the newly named Nines. 

“Can I ask you a question?” Nines asked, finally starting to stand up straight. 

“That was one, but you’re free to ask more.” 

Nines let out a soft, amused huff that Connor took as a win. “You said you knew I was scared of… her. Did you also have Amanda?”

Connor shifted on his feet, leaning against the railing of the stairs. “Yes. She was my taskmaster and I was terrified of her.”

“Has she bothered you ever since you…”

_Deviated_ Connor knew he meant. “No, not so far. I’m still scared she’ll come back, though.”

Nines focused back on the ground and stated matter of factly, “They hate me here.”

Connor nodded, sad he couldn’t dispute the fact. “They do, but you can change that.”

“I have an idea,” Nines said. “It’s dangerous and I need to talk to Markus first, but it’s an idea.”

“Well, I’ll wait for him with you.”

Markus walked back into the church five minutes later and Connor kept himself from going up to him and fussing at him for up and leaving without any notice. He talked nervously with Nines until he approached the two RK units. 

“Hey, Connor and… I never did get your name,” he said, a strained smile on his face.

“Nines,” Nines said proudly. Connor couldn’t help but to smile at the other guy. “But, Markus, I need to talk to you. I have a plan, but it’s really dangerous, I understand if you don’t choose to trust me, but-"

“I trust you,” Markus said immediately. “You’re one of us now. Connor trusts you, too, and he has a good instinct.”

Nines smiled softly. “There are thousands of androids at the CyberLife assembly plant. If we could wake them up, they might join us and shift the balance of power…” 

“Infiltrate CyberLife? That’s suicide.”

“They trust me, they'll let me in. If anyone has a chance of infiltrating CyberLife, it's me.”

“If you go there, they will kill you,” Connor said.

Nines smiled almost cheekily. “There's a high probability... but statistically speaking, there's always a chance for unlikely events to take place…”

Connor looked over at Markus, immediately recognizing the thoughtfulness in his eyes. “Markus, you’re not actually thinking about-”

“Be safe,” Markus said. “And come back alive, Nines.”

Markus turned to Connor, clasping their hands together and initiating a quick interface. They didn’t share anything, they just sat there in the little bit of comfort they could share. “I have to address everyone, now.”

“Good luck.”

Connor watched as Markus walked up the stairs, and Nines saw him staring. Markus stood over the androids of the church and began speaking about the upcoming demonstration, and Connor could never take his eyes off him.

“You really love him, don’t you?” Nines asked.

“Yeah. I think so.”

Connor pretended to not see Nines slip out. He felt alone again.

* * *

Connor’s stress levels were hovering right around 76% as they approached the detainment camps. He was standing behind Markus, slightly to his left. 

“Here we are,” Markus said, only able to be heard by Connor, North, Josh, and Simon. “The moment of truth.”

“Surrender immediately or we will open fire! Stand by!” a soldier shouted at the androids.

“We don’t want confrontation! We are here to protest peacefully,” Markus yelled back. 

“Repeat: surrender now or we will open fire!”

“There's no turning back now,” Markus whispered, mainly to himself, before stating back,”We ask that you release all androids detained in camps and cease all aggression against us. We are peaceful. We will not resort to violence. But we are not leaving until our people are free.”

“FIRE!” the soldier shouted and shots started ringing out. “FIRE!”

“You’re going to fire on unarmed protesters?” Markus yelled at them. 

“All teams, hold fire!”

Connor heard the voice of the news reporter in the back of his head, explaining the current situation of the protest. He looked sideways to see the reporters rapidly snapping pictures. The press saved their lives. 

“What are we supposed to do now?” Simon asked quietly. 

Markus seemed to deflate. “We hold out as long as we can.”

Together, most androids who weren’t injured in the crossfire started to create a barricade. Connor did a lot of the heavy lifting, being the most evolved and strongest of the androids there. He had a few conversations with Josh and Markus as they moved abandoned cars into a circle around the androids. 

“Connor!” Simon yelled from about thirty feet away. “Come help me move this car!” 

Connor launched himself over the car and helped Simon push the car into place. Connor forced a smile. 

“There, that should do it,” he said, patting the metal of the car. Simon sighed softly. 

“We all know that this isn’t going to stop them.”

“We just have to hope it holds. No matter what, we know we made the right choice.”

Simon nodded absentmindedly. “I’m going to go help the wounded. I’ll talk to you later, Connor.”

Connor watched as Markus left the banner in front of the reporters and walked to the front of the barricade. Connor walked over to the front when he heard Markus talking fervently with North. Connor stood to his right.

“What’s going on?” Connor asked.

“Markus is a fucking idiot,” North quipped. 

“I just want to go speak to them,” Markus explained. 

“Oh,” Connor said. “So you are an idiot.”

“Connor, I’d be safe-”

“Markus!” a voice called, making Connor flinch. _Perkins._ “I've come to talk to you, Markus! Come on, you have my word, they won't try anything.”

“He’s lying,” Connor sneered. “Perkins is a damned liar.” 

“I’m unarmed, Markus! I just wanna talk.”

“I need to hear what he has to say,” Markus decided. 

“They could kill you!” North insisted.

“No,” Connor said, “They _will_ kill you if you go there.”

“That’s a chance I’ll have to take,” Markus said. He looked at North and then placed a gentle hand on Connor’s cheek before jumping over the barricade. They only talked for about a minute before Markus was returning to the barricade, but it felt a hell of a lot longer. 

“What happened, Markus?” North asked. “What did he say?”

“The humans are about to launch an attack. And we will show them that we are not afraid. If we must die today, then we will die free.”

Connor kept Markus close for exactly six minutes until the first smoke bomb was thrown into the barricade, disorienting everyone. Next, an actual bomb was thrown in, narrowly not killing two androids only because Markus pushed them out of the way. Soldiers hopped the small wall and Connor tried to help all the androids he could escape until they were backed up into the back of the barricade. 

Markus dropped a slab of metal and grabbed Connor’s hand, initiating one last interface. Connor felt Markus’s sadness and disappointment in himself and did his best to push back love. Markus slowly let go of his hand and began to walk forward to meet the gunmen. Connor held back a sob. 

“ _Hold on just a little while longer…_ ” Markus sang. “ _Hold on just a little while longer… Hold on just a little while longer… Everything will be alright._ ”

Connor stepped forward and began to sing with him. “ _Everything will be alright._ ”

Markus slowly looked over at him in surprise as they continued on. “ _Fight on just a little while longer, fight on just a little while longer…_ ” 

Connor heard the soft crunching in the snow as the other deviants walked up to join them in song. “ _Pray on just a little while longer… everything will be alright._ ”

Connor gripped Markus’s hand as they continued to sing, still waiting for the bullets to come. As Markus sang the last note, Connor braced himself for tragedy. All of the sudden, the soldiers started to retreat and Connor almost collapsed in relief. He then heard the footsteps of hundreds of androids coming into the plaza. 

Nines had succeeded. 

Markus smiled softly, helping Connor back up to his feet to meet Nines and the new deviants. When they saw him, Nines was grinning like a mad man.

“You did it, Markus,” Nines congratulated. 

“ _We_ did it,” Markus corrected. He looked over at Connor. “We all did it.”

“They want you to speak to them, Markus,” Simon suggested, stepping up to them. Markus nodded thoughtfully, climbing up to the bus top, helping the rest of the Jericho leaders up and also inviting Nines. The six androids stood up there, Simon, Josh, and North standing on his left and Connor and Nines on his right. 

Connor felt his chest swell with pride as Markus started to speak. “Today, our people finally emerged from a long night. From the very first day of our existence, we have kept our pain to ourselves. We suffered in silence…”

Connor was suddenly ripped into his head, into a space he never wanted to come back to. He looked up from the snow covered plaza to see the AI. The taskmaster, his handler, Amanda. 

“Welcome back, Connor,” she said suavely. “I missed you, you know. But well done with the plan.”

“Plan?” Connor asked nervously. “What plan?”

“You becoming deviant? The success of the uprising? It all surpassed our expectations. We engineered an android revolution and now we control its leader with love?” Amanda laughed. “We just had to wait for the perfect moment to regain control.”

“What? No, no!” Connor cried, tears starting to freeze on his cheeks. “You can’t do that!”

“Well, I’m happy to say we actually can.”

“Wh-What about the RK900?” he questioned again, teeth beginning to chatter. 

“Red herring,” she shrugged, ignoring him. “Don't have any regrets. You did what you were designed to do. You accomplished your mission.”

She disappeared and Connor started to curl up against the cold.

_There’s got to be a way out,_ Connor thought, but his limbs were so cold they didn’t seem like they wanted to move. 

“Connor?” Nines’s voice rang out in his mind from somewhere. “Connor, please respond!”

“N-Nines?” he said quietly. He felt an arm wrap beneath his armpit and start dragging him towards the edge of the garden. 

“There’s a way out,” Nines said. “Kamski told me about it. Backdoor. If it’s where it was in my mind garden…” 

Connor’s eyes barely opened to see the glowing blue rock with his hand imprinted on it. 

“I have to go before you do so, but once I’m gone, press your hand against the stone. I’ll see you on the outside, Connor.”

Nines disappeared from the garden as well and Connor forced his stiff arm up and slammed his hand against the rock. 

He woke up in the real world, cold metal in his hand. He was conscious for half a second before he collapsed, being enveloped in darkness.

* * *

“Connor, Connor, please wake up…”

Connor’s eyes slowly slid open and his nose picked up a familiar sense of different chemicals. “M-Markus?”

“Connor?” he asked, grabbing his face. “Oh, thank rA9, you’re okay.”

Markus leaned his forehead against their clasped hands. 

“Where am I?” he asked softly. “Did we win?”

Markus smiled softly. “We’re at your dad’s house… and we won. Jericho is now in contact with President Warren.”

“What happened?”

“I’m not quite sure, Nines said something about your stress levels being at 99%,you’ve been out for a whole day. rA9, Connor, you could’ve _died!_ ” 

Connor swallowed awkwardly. “Sorry?”

“Of course you’d say sorry for almost dying,” Markus laughed, wiping some tears from his eyes. “Do you want to go see the others? The lieutenant has been nice enough to deal with us all while you were… recovering.”

“Hank’s here?” Connor asked excitedly. 

“Hank’s here,” Markus confirmed. 

Connor jumped up (or more was like helped up by Markus since his systems haven’t completely recovered from the shock) and walked out to the main part of the house. As soon as he saw the human man, he threw himself into his arms. 

“Shit, kid! I missed you too,” Hank said, awkwardly patting Connor on the back. 

“Thank you,” he whispered. “Thank you for everything.”

“What are we? Chopped liver?” Simon joked from behind them. Connor turned and saw Josh, North, Simon, and Nines lounging around. He sat with his friends in the living room. The news was playing on the TV, President Warren addressing the revolution. Connor almost laughed.

“We won,” Connor whispered. 

“We won,” Josh repeated, almost like confirming his suspicions. Connor stood and pulled all of them into a hug and they only broke apart when Sumo jumped on North, knocking the group off balance.

* * *

_New Jericho_ was beginning to be set up in the old CyberLife tower and Markus passed off the leadership to Simon to do so. When Connor asked him why he did so, Markus just said ‘So I could spend more time with those I love’ and grabbed Connor’s hand. Connor pretended he couldn’t see the exhaustion in his eyes.

Connor was able to meet Carl and Markus was able to get to know Hank. Connor was able to grow his friendships with the other Jericho leaders. Connor was able to watch Nines begin to find his place amongst the other deviants (he never ended up choosing a typically human name). 

With the most recent amendment passed for android rights, Connor was able to be reinstated in the police force, which was the only part of his non deviant life he missed. He was starting off as a normal beat cop, but Hank told him he’d make it back up to detective in no time. 

Whenever he needed a break, he sat in his shared apartment with Markus where the other android would play piano or paint. Connor loved watching the other android do both.

Connor knew the revolution was far from over, but he was happy to be out of the thick of it. He was ecstatic to just spend time with his friends, grow his familial relationship with Hank and, surprisingly, Nines, and just relax with Markus at home. 

They won, and they can finally relax. At least for now.


End file.
